This invention relates generally to air conditioners and, more particularly, to a grille and airflow baffle structure for a packaged terminal air conditioner.
In packaged terminal air conditioners (PTACs), the unit is placed within a wall sleeve and an architectural grille is mounted on the outdoor side, next to the condenser coil. A most common arrangement is to have the outdoor air drawn into the condenser coil by way of the central portion of the grille, and to then discharge the warmed air from the side portions of the grille. With this arrangement, performance losses can occur by a recirculation of the warmed discharged air into the central inlet portion of the grille. In order to prevent this, it is common to provide baffles on either side of the grille central portion to thereby deflect the air that would otherwise tend to be recirculated.
In addition to the function of preventing air recirculation as discussed hereinabove, the baffles have traditionally been employed as handles to be used by the serviceman in installing the grille from the inside of the building. Thus, it is important that the baffle structures be securely fastened to the grille structure. This has been accomplished in the past by various types of fasteners such as screws and the like. While they have been effective, these baffle structures have been expensive, both in terms of materials and time involved in the assembly process.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved grille and baffle structure for a packaged terminal air conditioner.
Another object of the present invention is the provision for securely attaching a baffle to a grille without the use of fasteners.
Yet another object of the present invention is the provision for a grille baffle that is economical to manufacture and assemble, while effective in use.
These objects and other advantages become more readily apparent upon reference to the following description when taken in conjunction with the appended drawings.